#hungline

A man in a sweater with a name tag pinned to his chest, he can’t read it from here, is smiling apologetically. “We’re closing in ten minutes. Can I help you look for something?”

“No,” Namjoon mumbles. There’s a swooping feeling in his gut. “It’s fine. I’ll come back later. I think I won’t be finding anything here tonight.”

The employee hums, “Sorry about that. We’re open from ten am to five pm for the rest of the week. I’m sure the book you’re looking for will be here tomorrow.”

Namjoon doesn’t argue, but he knows that it won’t. The thing about instincts, is that they’re meant to be followed. Ignoring them is like ignoring one’s identity, ignoring what the heart wants. His heart is telling him that it has to be today or he is going to miss it. But as time winds down, unfurling inevitably, Namjoon steps back from the shelves and shakes his head.

“Thanks,” he says, giving a small, dejected smile to the man before heading out of the store. Out on the street, Seoul is crisp but the freshness of the spring air is waning into a dusky hue. He shrugs on his jacket, plumes of warm air billowing out of his nostrils. He’s about to shove his hands in his pockets when–

“Feels off today, right?” A man is crouched a slight distance away, in front of a small family restaurant adjacent to the bookstore. He has dark, trim hair, and a black face mask cradling his chin. From this angle, Namjoon can only see his dark eyelashes as he observes the street in front of him, and the narrow button edge of his nose.

“Yeah,” Namjoon sighs. He glances back up at the street. “Really off.”

“Something told me to come to work today, even though Tuesdays are my day off.” The man shakes his head and stands up. He’s shorter than Namjoon, his skin is paler now that he can see him better under the storefront lights.

“Hm. I came all the way across town right after work to look for this book. I couldn’t find it though,” he scratches his head. “I can’t help but feel like I’m still looking for–”

The man looks at him, up into his bemused expression at the same time that Namjoon realizes. When their eyes connect, Namjoon feels like he’s lurching, hurling straight into an abyss, his gut drops in exhilaration, trepidation, and bottoms out, neck deep in a feeling he’s never known until now, a mixture between utter relief and intense yearning.

The man lefts out a soft gasp, lips parting, eyes widening. Namjoon’s jaw hangs slack. “You,” he chokes out. Then blinks several times, clears his throat, and tries again. Because now he knows. “I’m looking for you.”

Since the beginning of humanity, the concept of soulmates has been largely elusive. One could never pin down the certain event that leads humans together to form a bond larger than the pulse that runs through humanity. It’s believed, although unproven, that soulmates appear when you’re ready and when you listen to the calling inside you. It’s that bond, strung between soulmates, that draws them together. Not everyone has one, not everyone listens to it, and hence, the belief has faded into myth for a majority of the population. Because, odds are, you’ll never be at the exact place and exact time.

In Namjoon’s lifetime, which is not very long in the timeline of humanity, he has only met one woman who had found her soulmate. She described it to him, like a feeling of coming home. Namjoon had scratched his head at that, not sure what she meant and wondering if he’d ever understand that feeling.

He understands now, leaning into this man’s soul, encapsulated by his warmth, emboldened by the bond that courses between them.

The man licks his lips, looking flustered but excited. “I’m Yoongi.”

Yoongi. The name feels right. Satisfying, carving into his chest, nestling in his heart, unexpectedly and unfathomably belonging.

“Namjoon,” he says, his cheeks heating up as Yoongi’s face splits into an adorable, tentative smile. “Nice to meet you?”

Yoongi nods firmly, chuckling. “Yes, very nice I think. Very nice to meet you, Namjoon-ssi.”

Jimin sighed as he got himself out of his thoughts and took out the key to his apartment. He should stop thinking about it. It was only hurting him and maybe it was okay, he just needed to find a way to feel okay with this. He wasn’t alone in life. He had his friends…and his cat.

“Yuki!” Jimin called, searching for the cat as he tried to find a peak of white fluffy fur. Jimin furrowed his brows, calling out for her again, which usually drew her out from wherever she hid, when suddenly a white fluffy dot shot out of the corner and out of the front door that he hadn’t closed, yet. “Yuki, no!” Jimin gasped, eyes wide in panic as he ran after her, barely managing to grab his keys on his way before running after his cat. Yuki was a persian cat and although she was white and quickly seen, Jimin was too afraid to let her out and about, especially when it was dark and living near a busy street. Yuki was an indoor cat and never really fancied to go outside. And considering how high maintenance and expensive she had been, the risks of letting her out definitely outweighted whatever benefits it offered.

Jimin ran after his cat, calling out her name but the cat just meowed at him before running further each time he was close enough. It was almost like she wanted him to follow, which was absolutely ridiculous. Why would she want that? Yuki turned towards Jimin, meowing at him loudly that it made him startle at her weird behavior. He had never seen Yuki like this. She was a calm cat, snuggling up to him every night and acted like this. “What is it?” Jimin asked a little breathlessly, when he noticed how far they had run now. He hadn’t looked where he was going, just glad that he still had his eyes on the cat. The street was only dimly lit and there weren’t many houses, when Jimin followed Yuki further down the street. “Please, Yuki, come here,” Jimin whined but the cat didn’t even look at him, before vanishing into a garden, jumping over the fence effortlessly. Jimin stood a little frozen as he watched his cat jump up the window sill with a loud meow. Looking over his shoulder, Jimin quickly tried to orentiate himself but when he turned back around Yuki was gone.

“Yuki!” Jimin hissed, when he climbed over the fence, trying not to be too loud and hoping whoever lived in this house that he’d be asleep. He barely saw a white fluffy tail vanishing through the little cat door before, leaving Jimin no other choice. Kneeling down, Jimin pushed it up just a tiny peek so he could see inside. “Yuki, please.” Jimin whispered, hoping to find his cat somewhere inside and lure her back out.

…

Hoseok had been in the garden, tending to his plants and encouraging them to grow when his nose started itching. It was a sign that something magical was going on - or that he was starting to get that stupid pollen allergy again. Oh, what had he done to deserve such a hindrance! Of course he could keep it at bay with his own little spell and tinctures but just thinking about being a green witch that had a pollen allergy made his ears heat up. It was his best kept secret. Besides being a witch of course. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Yoru suddenly straightening and he quickly turned around thinking that his cat was being a troublemaker again.

“Yoru, stop attacking the caterpillars! I know the look pretty, all colorful and fluffy but you shouldn’t try to catch them! Don’t you want to see the butterflies in summer? Also, you just had dinner so you can’t really convince me that you have to catch yourself some prey you fluffy little…” Yoru didn’t wait to hear what exactly he was being called this time because actually he hadn’t seen any caterpillars. Instead he had heard something. His ears twitched before he set his lean body in motion, jumping easily over the gardenias and bushy mint to disappear into the house through the open door to the garden.

Yuki meowed as if to announce her visit, happily tapping her feet when she saw a black cat approaching. There was a human following, but the cat didn’t care as it meowed happily towards his own kind, recognizing the familiar right away.

“Wh-what are you…?” Jimin whispered but quickly held his breath, when he saw human feet passing him and walking towards his cat. His eyes widened and he quickly leaned back, to not give away that he was kneeling in front of their door like a creep.  

The witch was following his familiar into the kitchen, just to be sure where he was suddenly met with a majestic ball of fluff. “Oh - you’re not a caterpillar!” Exclaimed Hoseok happily, being completely unaware of how it must sound to someone who didn’t knew the context. “You’re really pretty though.”

The cat blinked at him as if agreeing to his statement before she completely ignored him for the sake of greeting Yoru. The two cats carefully approached each other, sniffing, before the white cat’s tail perked up. It looked like a fluffy toilet brush as it was and Hoseok laughed, trying not to think about how this cat would look if she was frightened.

The cat door rattled with movement and Hoseok turned his attention towards the door. “Did you bring back up, pretty?” He kneeled down to take a sneak peak at his next furry visitor - but to his surprise he stared at two big and very human eyes. “Oh! Who… who are you?”

Jimin fell back, startling from the sudden greeting through the cat door while his eyes had been on his cat the whole time. Yuki just meowed at the witch, snuggling closer to the other cat as if they were old friends and Jimin couldn’t believe what he saw.

The door opened and with Jimin, still being frozen on the ground, he blinked up at the man that now stood in front of him. A very handsome one, Jimin realized quickly and definitely younger than he would have thought. Maybe just a couple of years older than himself. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…I thought you’d might be asleep or something, but my cat slipped into your home.” Jimin tried to explain, “Yuki! Come here, baby.”

Hoseok furrowed his brows, looking down to the other one curiously. Jimin was still somehow cowering on the floor which made for an awkward conversation. “Asleep? Why would I be asleep on a… “ He broke off. It was a full moon’s night so he planned on staying awake but he realized too late that most people didn’t care about the moon. No need to spill his little secrets right at the very beginning. “Right, I see. Thank you for being considerate. Do you want a cup of tea?”

“Ah, yeah, no thank you that’s very kind. I just really want to bring Yuki home, can I?” Jimin asked, but the good looking man was already motioning for him to walk inside. He thanked him again with a smile, not even really looking around, so he didn’t notice the line of dry herbs at the wall or the many weird looking books. Jimin’s gaze was solely on his cat, who wasn’t very keen on coming with him. Yuki hissed, jumping up a bookshelf as she followed Yoru somewhere, where Jimin couldn’t reach her anymore. “She never behaves like this. She’s an indoor cat,” Jimin explained quickly, feeling awkward and slightly embarrassed. Usually his cat was all over him, loving to snuggle up into his embrace and had never hissed at him before. “I…I don’t get it. Please, Yuki. Let’s go home and not bother this lovely man, okay?”

“An indoor cat? She sure is a sneaky one if she managed to run all the way here just to visit my Yoru.” He watched the two cats happily climbing the bookshelves. The shelves were never filled completely with books, there where always free spaces for Yoru to crawl through or sit on, little cushions or pieces of cloth to make it comfortable to him and so he trusted Yuki to find her way through his furnishing as well without knocking anything over. She was quite elegant and was easily slipping through spaces that looked too small for all the fluff she was carrying. “She’s quite a beauty.”

“She is,” Jimin nodded. “But I don’t know. She usually never behaves like this. She ran like crazy out of the door the moment I came in…” He rubbed the sides of his temple, feeling tired from his long day at work and having to deal with a troublemaker cat now as well. Jimin looked up at the man, smiling apologetically. “Yuki is usually very calm and snuggly, I’m not sure what has gotten into her. I’m so sorry I’m giving you so much trouble tonight.” Jimin walked over to the shelf again, but the moment the cats saw the human approaching, they jumped down and ran further into the strangers home.  

Hoseok chuckled. “Oh, I know exactly what’s gotten into her. I think her and Yoru are likely to become very good friends. We can’t really mess with that, can we?” He winked at the man who looked more and more exasperated. “It’s fine, really. I don’t mind having you two in my kitchen. However I’d prefer to sit down and have a nice cup of herbal tea. If Yuki won’t come down afterwards I can try to lure her down with some leftover thuna. Are you in?”

“Oh, okay, I guess…“ Jimin walked after Hoseok a little absently minded. This is really not the way he had pictured his evening to be like. But somehow, it felt okay and not really dangerous as it maybe should be to be in a stranger’s home. “I’m Jimin,” He said, reaching out his hand for the other to take.

“I’m Hoseok.” When he took the humans hand there was a little spark of electricity between them and Jimin quickly pulled his hand away. “Ah, sorry.” Hoseok laughed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “I’ve been in the garden and if I walk with the gummi shoes on the carpet it creates static.” It was an easy excuse. The other explanation would be that his witchy side and Jimin’s energy was more than compatible but telling that to strangers would definitely freak them out.

Hoseok put on the kettle, taking two cups from the cupboard. He was very proud that he owned some that were almost matching as he normally only had crazy individual parts of tableware. Yoru tapped back inside the kitchen, meowing at his owner once before nudging his leg. “Bring us some tuna, please.” He meowed melodically, only for the witch to understand. “Yuki is hungry, and I want to show her the good kind we have. Let me have it!”

Jimin furrowed his brows, blinking his eyes a couple of times as he watch the cat meow as if he was trying to communicate and Hoseok was listening. He smiled, finding the situation rather funny when Hoseok suddenly answered and the cat seemed to listen.

“Oh? You wanna share your thuna with her? She must be something real special then…” When he went for the fridge and saw Jimin watching him curiously he winked at him again (leaving Jimin to blush). “Don’t tell me you’re not talking to your cat when you’re alone. We all do it.” He took the thuna out and divided it fairly between the two cats. He chose the white little ceramic plate with the golden rim for Yuki and smiled when Yoru gave his approval. Apparently there was more to Yuki than he had initially thought and he couldn’t wait to ask Yoru all about his new friend.

“Y-yeah I do but…but I don’t really know what it truly wants…like you seem to understand him?” Jimin cocked his head aside, as he watched the two cats happily eating together when Hoseok had place the plates in front of them. It was a sweet scenario to watch and somehow Jimin lost himself in the sight of the two cats. It was almost like they had found each other, Jimin thought to himself, chuckling quietly. Like soulmates. As if they were having a sweet little cat date. Taking a sip from his tea, he finally relaxed a little more. Maybe it wasn’t so bad for Yuki to have a friend over from time to time and Hoseok seemed to be nice as well. Jimin leaned over his chair, when he watched the two cats tapping away again and towards a corner, where they snuggled into a big fluffy pillow.

“I think she likes it here more than she does with me.” Jimin said, a little pinch of sadness in his voice. “She didn’t even look at me anymore. Look!” He nodded over to the cats, “It’s almost like they know each other but it can’t be. Yuki has never been out before and…I live up on the third floor, there’s no way Yoru could have visited her somehow. They seem so familiar?” Jimin furrowed his brows as he leaned against the door frame and watched the two cats taking care of each other.

Hoseok turned with a queasy feeling in his stomach - and then simply stood and stared. Jimin was right, the two cats were acting as if they hadn’t just met, cuddling and stretching their paws comfortable, almost as if… when Yoru started licking the other, cleaning the white cat’s beautiful fur with delight he saw his hunch confirmed. The cats acted like they were soulmates. Which meant…

He turned again, his eyes wide and confusion written all over his face when he looked at the boy who had been led into his kitchen by their cats romance in a completely new light.

Jimin sighed as he watched the cats. Even they had it easier finding a partner, he thought to himself. “Well, I guess, if she isn’t coming with me then,…”  Jimin laughed awkwardly, “…I might come back tomorrow? If you don’t mind I mean…and then try again?” Not wanting to stand there, feeling the awkward tension, Jimin reached for something he found on one of the shelfs close by.

“Don’t touch that!” Hoseok threw himself across the room to keep Jimin from touching the bottles with colorful liquid he had created in hours of dedicated, scrupulous work. They were in balance, blank slates, ready to be used to intensify spells or magical work. One touch and they’d react to Jimin, with all balance lost (because humans - or creatures in general - were never in balance). However he  was too late and only ended up startling Jimin who lost grip on one of the vials.

Jimin’s eyes widened when the glass shattered on the floor, weird looking smoke (something about it seemed too purple to Jimin but maybe he had just imagined it) ascending from it and leaving a dark stain and a smell that he couldn’t quite decipher.

“I…I am so sorry.” Jimin blushed vividly as he kneeled down, wanting to clean up the mess he had made as he reached for the shards to collect them.

Hoseok groaned. There went his work. Luckily, he had made more than one so unless Jimin touched the others as well he only shattered a part of his work, not all of it.

“It’s fine, just… don’t touch anything? Please? Including shards of glass on the floor?” Somehow this boy seemed to have little regard for his own safety because stepping into a strangers home might be acceptable with a good knowledge of human nature but picking up shards of glass covered in an unknown substance without gloves was just downright stupid. He kneeled down to keep Jimin from reaching out - not because of the vial, that was totally ruined but because he didn’t wanted the other to hurt himself. When Hoseok’s hand wrapped around his wrist, Jimin startled from the sudden jolt that went through him like sparks. It felt different than before: stronger. Jimin blinked up at the strange man. “I really am sorry. I didn’t want to let it fall…I usually am never this clumsy.” He looked down to their hands, where Hoseok was holding onto him and a warmth was spreading through his veins that made his heart skip a beat. “Can…can I make it up to you somehow?” Jimin bit his lip, “Where did you buy these? I could get you a new one maybe?”

“It’s fine. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.” When he had taken Jimin’s hand in his it had happened what he had thought: the little spark, the energy that pulled two people together ran right through his fingertips. And from the way Jimin had flinched he had felt it too. This was it for him then. This person that he barely knew was meant to be his partner in life, in whichever way the universe had planned. He relaxed, sitting back on his heels. He wouldn’t dump all of his secrets on Jimin right now but he also knew that he would let the other in eventually so he let his guard down a little, allowing himself to be a little more…himself. “How are you feeling, Jimin?”

“I’m okay, I guess.” Jimin answered vaguely, not sure why Hoseok was asking him how he was doing right now. “Except from destroying your property and probably losing my cat to you.” He chuckled low, “Why do you ask? Are the fumes from the bottle toxic?” Jimin’s eyes widened and as if Yoru knew, the black cat jumped on his leg, softly nudging his hand to calm him.

“No, that’s not it. Don’t worry, it’s just…herbs and stuff. Nothing dangerous.” He wasn’t quite sure how to handle this because he had thought that Jimin had felt their connection as well and knew what it meant. But what if humans weren’t that perceptive? Should he just let Jimin go and talk to Yoongi before telling Jimin that they were soulmates? He was glad for the cat’s help at comforting Jimin who seemed really confused. “Then why did you ask?” Jimin shifted a little away from the shards, so he could sit more comfortably, pulling Yoru into his lap, even though his own cat was rather ignoring him and snuggling closer to the witch.

Jimin lifted the cat up to nuzzle his nose against his and give it a kiss on top of his forehead, when suddenly Yoru turned his head towards Hoseok, meowing at his owner and leaving Jimin stunned. “He is searching for his soulmate for long. He is so blind to it, that he would only see the obvious.” The cat meowed and Jimin blinked back and forth between the animal and Hoseok who seemed to listen as if he understood. “How should he know the witch-way. He’s human after all. And he still blames your stupid rain boot shoes excuse for the sparks.”

“Oh shit, right!” He gave Jimin an excellent excuse to ignore the sparks from when he had thought Jimin was just someone with a little drop of casual magic in him. He probably should wait and ask Yoongi to not scare Jimin off. Or… he could just do some little harmless investigation. “Do you believe in soulmates?” He blurted out and could practically see Yoru giving him an unbelieving glance that told him ‘you idiot’ just as much as if the cat had told him.

Jimin had let the cat down again and cocked his head aside. “Yeah, I do. I’ve seen it happen lots of times all around me.” He smiled faintly, soothing over the black fur of Hoseok’s cat to not look up and hide the sadness in his eyes. “Have you found yours, yet? How did you know?” His heart ached at the thought of soulmates, when all he wished for was to find his own but there were never any signs that he could follow.

He evaded Jimin’s question as he didn’t want to lie to him nor tell him ‘i think it’s you’ right away so he quickly diverted Jimin attention elsewhere. “That’s actually what I wanted to ask you: How did your friends know who their soulmates were? Where there like.. sparks or anything?” If he knew what Jimin expected then maybe he could make him see their connection.

“Namjoon found his by a tattoo on his wrist and Jungkook, he had a song on his mind and Taehyung shared his dreams with his soulmate.” Jimin shrugged his shoulders, “The usual stuff, I guess. I know of one who had a red string attached to them and followed it. But most people just have a mark, like a tattoo.” He pointed at Hoseok, “Do you have one? Maybe I know your soulmate.”

Hoseok sighed. He had hoped for something more easily to prove. If the signs were so different then he couldn’t really give Jimin a sign like he had hoped he could. “No, I don’t have a mark. I do have tattoos but I paid for them so I don’t think the universe put them on my body to guide me to my soulmate.” He bit his lip, contemplating how to proceed before he decided to try again, more direct this time. “What do you think will make you see who your soulmate is? What kind of sign would make you believe that this is the person who will be by your side throughout your life?”

Jimin was more than confused, his heart was beating fast as he felt weirdly put on the spot. “I…I don’t know? I really don’t…” Jimin pointed at himself, “I don’t have tattoos, nor any songs stuck in my mind or a red string…I’m a hopeless case of the soulmate fate. Why do you want to know?” He laughed awkwardly, reaching for Yuki, who slipped right out of his hands again as she meowed offendedly and tapped back next to Yoru.

Hoseok nodded defeatedly. It would have been too easy. He should let it rest. He really shouldn’t rush this. Besides it would be breaking the code to show his magic to a human like that, although… it couldn’t be a crime to let his soulmate see him fully, could it? Yoru meowed at him that if he continued to be so useless he would write it out for Jimin himself because there was no way he would let Jimin go home with Yuki without the guarantee that he would see his princess ever again! Hoseok gave them a lopsided smile as Yuki started purring at the nickname.

There was a weird feeling in his stomach, something that Jimin couldn’t decipher and it made him feel nervous as he watched Hoseok and the cats. Somehow he felt as if he had been in the wrong movie. “I guess, it’s time for me to go.” Jimin broke through the silence, before addressing Yuki. “Will you come with…”

He didn’t even finish his sentence, when Yuki turned his back on him and walked over to Yoru’s cushion as if she owned the place already. Jimin sighed and got up from the floor. If he wasn’t so sure he was awake right now, he would have said this was just a weird dream. Whose cat was acting this weird, making him follow a stranger to his home who was apparently made out of electricity with the amount of shocks he had sent through him each time they had touched, asking him all about soulmates and how he was doing while their cats were acting like a married couple? This was a strange way of the universe to get to him; Jimin hadn’t even finished the thought, when his eyes widened like saucer plates and it suddenly hit him like a million bricks.

Hoseok slightly panicked when Jimin got up, scared that he might have driven Jimin away and that the other wouldn’t visit him again because he had hit a nerve with all that soulmate talk or made Jimin think he was a weird person trying to get too personal too quickly.

“Please don’t go!” He hastily got to his feet, “I can explain. I wasn’t trying to weird you out or make you feel sad I just… I didn’t know how else to approach the subject and I wasn’t sure how to make you see… to  make you see that…” The witch bit his tongue, too scared of being rejected ot accused of lying by his own soulmate.

Jimin blinked at the stranger, heart beating fast in his chest. “Make me see…what?” He had an inkling, something that was tingling down his spine as he gazed at the man in front of him, waiting and hoping; silently begging not to be let down again.

Yoru nudged his head against Hoseok’s leg, meowing loudly. “Make him see! You’re a witch god damn it, how didn’t you think of it before? Do I have to do all the work? I found your soulmate after all.” He held his head high, before joining Yuki on his cushion, dropping down as if he was exhausted from all the work he had done as his familiar already, leading his witch to his true soulmate the traditional witch way.

”I can’t just show him, what if he freaks and…” Hoseok froze in shock. He had just snapped at his cat. In front of Jimin. If the other hadn’t thought that he was crazy before he sure thought it now. The witch groaned, burying his head in his hands. He was so fucked!

The younger was utterly confused as he stared at Hoseok, who had yelled at his cat that refused to look at him right now as if he’d understood him – again. And yet, it didn’t scare him somehow. Jimin took a deep breath, before asking quietly, “What is it that he wants you to show me?”

Hoseok looked up, wary but hopeful because Jimin was still there. If he hadn’t grabbed his cat and ran off then maybe there was a chance to make him see. The only thing he could do was tell the truth and see if Jimin was able to take it.

“He wants me to show you the sparks. The ones that say that you’re my soulmate. Because I told you a stupid excuse in the beginning when I didn’t realized it myself, what they mean so you think it’s static and if you leave now he’s scared he won’t see Yuki again. We… we both are. Because I’d really like you to see.” He hesitated before reaching out for Jimin, not quite touching him, “Will you let me show you?”

Jimin held his breath, eyes flickering down to Hoseok’s hand and back up to his eyes, trying to detect a lie, or that he was making fun of him. But there was nothing but him asking for his trust in this. His body moved on his own as he held out his hand for Hoseok to take, slowly nodding, but not quite sure, yet if he should believe him. “W-what do you mean…y-you can show me the sparks?” Jimin asked in a whispery tone, feeling utterly confused and yet he stepped closer.

Instead of an answer Hoseok stretched out his hand a little bit further until their fingertips brushed. It was easy to make the sparks visible because there was so much energy between, so much potential waiting to be brought to life that he barely had to think it into a visible spectrum before the air around their hands were bursting with sparks of color.

The air got stuck in his lungs when Jimin saw the sparks between them; literal sparks flying where they were touching each other but it didn’t hurt him, nor did he feel anything but his heartbeat skipping a beat. “H-how?” He breathed out, softly touching Hoseok’s hands, “What are you doing…why…did…” Jimin shook his head as he tried to sort out his thoughts. “Yoru told you to show me this? How does your cat know that we are soulmates when it wasn’t visible before?” His voice was tumbling over as he tried to ask all the questions that were racing on his mind right now. “Did Yuki bring me here on purpose? What…why…this…isn’t normal, right? I’ve never heard of this happening before.”

Jimin sounded suspiciously anxious and Hoseok wasn’t very convinced that he should dump the ‘also I’m a witch’ secret on him so he just smiled ominously. “If I promise you that I’ll explain everything to you later on - do you believe that we are what the universe was trying to bring together?“

Jimin nodded softly, wrapping his fingers softly around Hoseok’s wrist as he watched the sparks fly between them like millions of little fireflies. His heart was beating like crazy, his eyes tearing up when the realization settled in that he had found him. In a weird kind of way that Jimin had no idea, yet was just as magical as he thought it was. The warmth that was rushing through his veins when their fingers intertwined was incredible and Jimin stood in awe as he let the magic of the bond settle in. “I have never seen anything like this.” Jimin whispered, when he reached for the other hand and held onto it as well to see more sparks flying that made him smile. “Why couldn’t I see it before? How did you do this?”

Hoseok chuckled while he gently graced the others palm with his fingertips, revelling in the pure contentment that was settling inside of him while he was touching his soulmate. “You’re too curious to let it go, hm? Alright. The short form: We can agree that the connection between soulmates is some form of magic, right? And we are just a little more magic than the usual pairs.”

Jimin furrowed his brows, “What?” He laughed, shaking his head. “How can we be a little more magic? I’m not a wizard or something if you…” Jimin’s eyes widened and suddenly all color left his face. His gaze flickered from one object in the room to another, to the weird looking purple stain on the floor, to the books with weird titles, to the cats then back to Hoseok.